Peterborough has awesome alleys and cool urban spaces downtown that make perfect backdrops for photo shoots for Instagram. Here are just a few great options that Rob “Electric City” James captured on a recent trek around town…

Those weren't alien lights you saw last night (February 25th). They are called light pillars, which happen during cold temps like we experienced last night into early this morning. The visual phenomenon is created by the reflection of light from ice crystals in the atmosphere. Local photographer Jay Callaghan is a night owl, and took these beautiful pics below around 1:45 a.m. in the Parkhill Rd West area looking towards Chemong. "Once the clouds rolled in the pillars disappeared, so I was at the right place at the right time," Jay tells us. You sure were.

Survivorman himself, Les Stroud, is visiting Peterborough to play at the Montreal House this Friday night (March 22nd) to perform. Stroud recently won Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program at the Canadian Screen Awards, and is currently on tour. He is hoping to start filming new episodes of Survivorman soon. If you're new to his music, have a peek at his concert in Bancroft and listen to his music on the Les Stroud App for iOS.

The 30th annual Easter Seal Telethon takes place this weekend and will be broadcast live from Lansdowne Place Mall and CHEX TV studio’s this Sunday, March 3rd, on CHEX TV and TV Cogeco from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The annual Telethon provides an opportunity to get to know some Easter Seals families from the community and hear their stories, including local Easter Seals Ambassador, 8-year-old Aidan Cameron from Cobourg.

In addition, the Telethon will celebrate the year’s fundraising successes, recognize generous supporters, and raise essential funds that help children with physical disabilities and their families who need assistance.

“When you have a child with a physical disability, everyday can be a challenge,” said Coralie Jacobs, Senior Development Officer, Easter Seals Ontario. “The Telethon gives us a glimpse into the lives of Easter Seals families and how donations from our supporters make such a big difference in the quality of life for their child.”

In the 1993 episode of The Simpsons, "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)", Principal Skinner pitches the idea of opening a casino during a town hall meeting discussing ways to revitalize the economy. And townsfolk seem to dig it. Mr. Burns,owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, really likes the idea and the boost it should give to the economy and how it will make him richer.

So Mr. Burns decides to build it on the waterfront and name it "Mr. Burns' Casino" and be the owner, while Smithers is his casino manager. Homer leaves his job at the power plant and takes a job with Mr. Burns at the casino as a blackjack dealer when it opens.

While Marge waits for Homer's shift to end at the casino one day, she finds a quarter on the floor and uses it to play a slot machine. She wins. And she almost immediately gets addicted to gambling, while neglecting everyone around her—including Lisa who has an important school assignment.

Bart is too young to gamble at Mr. Burns' Casino—he tries, but gets kicked out—so he starts his own casino for his friends and all their friends to play in his treehouse.

When Homer realizes Marge has developed a serious addiction to gambling—she's there at the casino 24/7—he looks for her in a panic in the casino. His outburst is caught on the casino's security camera, and when Mr Burns sees this, he demotes Homer back to his old job at the power plant.

After Homer confronts Marge about her addiction, she realizes that she has a problem. She returns home and remembers what she had with her family. And Homer settles back into his job at the power plant. Mr. Burns, meanwhile, became a recluse, a germaphobe, once the casino opened and decides to return to the plant.

The casino is later demolished by an explosion. This was because of a mix-up behind the demolition crew in regards to setting it (it was supposed to be set for implosion).

Peterborough participated in the One Billion Rising yesterday (February 14th), which saw rallies being held in 203 countries around the globe.. Here's to "girl power", here's to uniting to stop the violence against women. More from CBC in this report. Watch the video from the Peterborough rally...